


King and Lionheart

by Impossiblefangirl0632



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Author makes up laws because she can, F/M, False Accusations, From Hux, Historical Inaccuracy, King Ben Solo, Mistaken Identity, Period Typical Attitudes, Pregnancy, Prince Ben Solo, Rey Needs A Hug, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:54:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24922663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Impossiblefangirl0632/pseuds/Impossiblefangirl0632
Summary: Loosely based on the song King and Lionheart by Of Monsters and Men.The Lionheart is the protector of Alderaan and the leader of its armies, second only to the King.  The people thought it odd when then Prince Ben left the country to study magic. They questioned when the newly crowned King Benjamin came home with a powerful masked warrior and made him the Lionheart. Soon enough though Lionheart Ray won their respect and their hearts. Everyone except Lord Armitage Hux who suspects that something is not as it appears.OrIn which Rey is having a rough day, Ben is so done with Hux's crap and Hux makes A Mistake^tm.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 20
Kudos: 94
Collections: Reylo Theme Event Summer





	King and Lionheart

**Author's Note:**

> Part of the Writing Den's theme event with the theme of "Masked"
> 
> Eternal thanks to [dawninthemtn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dawninthemtn/pseuds/dawninthemtn) for betaing this. She is the reason this is no longer a hot mess of too much exposition and run-on sentences.

King Benjamin Organa Solo of Alderaan had a way of confusing his new subjects.

Growing up, he had never been the prince they had expected. Where they had expected to welcome him home from quests where he’d bravely slay dragons and rescue damsels, they had rarely seen him, and he was rumored to have stayed holed up in the palace library. 

Somewhere in his youth, he had disappeared altogether. His widowed mother Queen Leia assures their subjects that he had been sent to train as a mage under her brother’s tutelage and would return shortly to ascend the throne. 

The fact that he very nearly did not return home to claim the throne at all was kept to a very small circle.

With Alderaan mostly unfamiliar with their now-returned prince, they met his sudden ascension to King with some resistance. Why was their beloved Queen stepping down so early? 

Furthermore, the new King Benjamin had made the odd decision to choose a complete stranger as his Lionheart, the leader of Alderaan’s army and personal protector of the crown. Since the Lionheart was the automatic successor in case the royal line ever broke, the Lionheart was traditionally chosen from one of the noble houses of Alderaan. 

The nobles at court had seen it as a personal snub that their new king had chosen a strange, masked young man from Yavin over one of their own. The rumors were cruel at first, they thought the Lionheart must be hiding some terrible curse or disfigurement. Or perhaps he had bewitched the King and was merely biding his time for the opportune moment.

However, as the years passed, the people moved on; King Benjamin proved himself to be a just and fair leader, and the oddity of the masked Lionheart was forgotten and any residual resentment soon faded. The nobles assured themselves that the issue of succession wouldn’t matter anyway once the King married and produced an heir. The King was a highly desirable young man himself; surely he would find a wife and secure his bloodline quickly.

He didn’t.

This, perhaps, was the strangest behavior the people of Alderaan had seen yet.

King Ben was five years into his reign and remained completely unattached. In the beginning, swarms of princesses and other fine ladies had flocked to the palace in hopes of becoming his queen but all had left empty-handed and embarrassed. The people were starting to worry that King Ben would never marry. 

As more time passed, there was renewed interest in the Lionheart, talk of manipulations, and underhanded deeds. Lord Hux, once a popular candidate for Lionheart himself, hypothesized that the person who had the most to gain from an unmarried king was the king’s own successor. 

Lord Hux had the Lionheart followed.

One day his patience was rewarded. 

\--

The throne room buzzed with anticipation. Lord Hux had called for an audience with the King in front of the entire court. Now that in and of itself was nothing special- the young lord was known to have an over-inflated sense of his own importance. Today, though, the unusually full court was abuzz with a rumor that Hux had caught a traitor in their midst.

Just as the whispered conversations reached a dull roar the heavy oak doors burst open, revealing Lord Hux, followed by two guards supporting a prisoner stumbling between them due to the heavy black bag that had been placed over their head. The prisoner was dressed over in basic undergarments, brown leggings, and a loose white shirt, his hands were bound behind his back but even as he fell to his knees he held himself with defiance that was visible to all despite his sorry appearance.

Ben straightened in his throne as the group came to a stop at the foot of the raised dais, his curiosity peaked. Every person had their own unique signature within the magic web of the force. Yet he could sense nothing from the prisoner. 

Upon closer inspection his eyes found the magic blocking cuffs clasped firmly on their wrists. ‘A magic-user then… ‘

“My King.” Lord Hux bowed deeply and Ben mentally prepared himself for another episode of Hux’s bootlicking, self-aggrandizing speeches. 

“Today, I bring before you and this esteemed court, a traitor who has hidden at the very heart of our kingdom, a traitor who has broken our most basic law,”

‘Get to the point,’ Ben grumbled to himself.

“A traitor, who has deceived us all and worst of all, lied, to His Majesty the King.” He paused for dramatic effect and Ben was pleased when the assembled court didn’t give him his expected gasps and outbreak of whispering. 

Hux scowled and cleared his throat. “I present the prisoner to receive judgment from His Majesty.” He roughly pulled the black bag off of the prisoner’s head.

Hux got his wish. Pandemonium broke loose as Ben lurched to his feet, rage coursing through his veins.

Instead of revealing a face, the shining white and gold porcelain mask of the King’s Lionheart gleamed for all to see.

__

Hux basked in the glorious chaos he’d caused and the subsequent attention. Gasps rang out from the assembled crowd; shouts of denial and disbelief pierced the air.

“SILENCE!” bellowed the king. The hushed whispering vanished instantly. Their king was an intimidating figure drawn up to his full height as he was now.

Hux grew fearful. The king was positively livid, eyes flashing. And his fury was not directed at the Lionheart as Hux had anticipated but at himself. 

“Guards release the Lionheart Rey,” King Ben ordered. “Explain yourself, Hux. Now.”

Hux panicked, throwing out a restraining hand to stop the guards. His window of opportunity was closing quickly; the king must be made to understand.

“The Lionheart is not who you think!” He moved quickly, tossing his planned grand speech.

He turned his back on the king at great political risk to rip the Lionheart’s mask off.

Chestnut hair spilled down the young woman’s back, her fierce, hate-filled hazel eyes glared at him for the second time today. The charm around her neck prevented her from speaking but if looks could kill Hux knew he'd be a dead man.

A second round of gasps and questions rang through the hall. A woman? The Lionheart was a woman? Did the king know? Was that legal?

Hux had about half a second of smug pride before he was thrown back several yards by an invisible force. Blood pooled in his mouth from where he’d bitten his cheek. His head ached and he clutched at it as he sat up groaning.

He blinked furiously, not believing his eyes. The king was removing the shackles that bound the Lionheart and undoing the enchantment that kept her from speaking.

“Guards, arrest Lord Hux,” the king commanded. He didn’t even spare Hux a glance, his attention fixated solely on the woman.

Hux sat immobilized with shock as the guards took the very same cuffs that had been restraining Lionheart Rey and placed them on his own wrists. 

“On what grounds am I to be arrested? I have broken no laws!” 

The king ignored his demands for the moment as he returned to his throne, the unmasked Lionheart following him and taking her usual place standing just to his right. 

“You have wrongfully imprisoned a superior and given false evidence. Lionheart Rey is no traitor.”

“But she is a woman! She’s been lying to you this whole time!”

The woman scoffed and rolled her eyes. “I never said I was a man,” she explained calmly and confidently to the room at large. “You all just assumed I was male. His majesty has known the entire time. He would not have chosen for me to be his Lionheart if he thought I was incapable of the job. And I would hope, that after these past years of loyal and selfless service in defense of my king and country, that my actions have proven that I am worthy of the title of Lionheart.” Her intelligent hazel eyes scanned the crowd daring anyone to speak out against her.

Quite, thoughtful murmurs rippled through the crowd. Hux’s panic rose like bile in his throat. He could see the inquisitive looks and glances at Dowager Queen Leia, who smiled smugly as though the entire affair gave her great pleasure. He was losing the crowd’s support. This wasn’t going the way he thought it would. 

He steadied his voice as he stood; it was imperative that he maintain his facade of control.

“No one doubts the quality of your service milady, and I see now that my previous assumption that the king was unaware of your identity was incorrect, but the fact remains that no woman has ever been the King’s Lionheart. It goes against the laws of Alderaan!”

“Where?” snapped the king, “Where does it say the Lionheart must be a man?” He raised an eyebrow at Hux calling his bluff.

“Well,” he spluttered “Since no woman has ever-” 

Dowager Queen Leia stepped forward and cut him off with a raise of her hand. “I’m afraid you are also incorrect there. In the early years of my Mother and Father’s reign, there was a female Lionheart: Lady Tano. she was one of my parents’ closest confidants and friends.” She raised an imperious eyebrow, “For someone who’s supposed to know our country’s laws and history this is highly embarrassing.”

Hux felt the vein under his left eye twitch.

“You have brought forward no valid reason for Lionheart Rey’s removal. No laws have been broken-”

“Yes, they have!” Hux interrupted the king. 

No one spoke.

Hux swallowed thickly. This was his last resort. He really had no business knowing what he did and he hoped that no one would question how he knew until Lionheart Rey was gone and he had assumed her role as sole commander of the Alderaanian army.

“Go on then,” the woman in question snapped. “What law have I apparently broken?”

Hux ignored her. “My king, as per your own decree, children are to be cared for and raised full time by at least one parent until they are old enough to be responsible for themselves.”

Rey’s face went deathly pale. The king shot her a concerned look but she just shook her head and continued to stare at Hux. 

“Yes, that is why we have state-sponsored pensions and paid parental leave. What does that have to do with Lionheart Rey?”

“By your law, in the interest of the children of our nation, a single mother-" Several court women leveled icy glares at him, “or father-" he amended with a sneer, “cannot be a member of your majesty's army."

Hux noted with cruel relish that the woman’s knuckles were white with the force of her grip on the throne. “This woman cannot be the Lionheart, my king, because she is with child.”

___

Rey felt the accusing pressure of hundreds of eyes on her with varying levels of judgment, pity, and disgust. But the only eyes she cared about, Ben’s beautiful honey brown eyes, refused to meet hers. She at last lowered her mental walls and nudged him slightly. 

He sprang at the chance immediately bridging their minds. She had been intentionally blocking him out today so he wouldn't accidentally find out before she had a chance to tell him. 

That had obviously worked out so well.

Rey smiled though at his concern and his tentative, hopeful joy that was nearly overwhelming.

“Rey? Is that true?” He spoke directly into her mind. “Are you pregnant?” 

Rey swallowed thickly, blinking away happy tears, “I went to see Healer Maz this morning." She sent him memories of the day, showing him her nervousness and joy at the results, followed immediately by the ambush and being arrested by Hux’s men. “He was waiting outside for me to come out. He must have heard our conversation.”

Ben finally met her eyes, traces of his barely repressed joy leaked through beneath the uncertainty. “Does he know-?”

“I don’t think so, otherwise he wouldn’t have arrested me. He’s not that stupid.”

Ben grunted, clearly holding other opinions. He opened and clenched his fist repeatedly, one of his tells that he had something to say he knew she wouldn’t like. In this case, she already knew.

She sent her love and reassurance to caress his consciousness. 

“It’s alright. I’ve always said we would tell the people if we ever had a child. Although I never pictured the reveal being quite like this.” 

Ben’s elated emotions seeped into her mind like a comforting blanket, and she couldn’t resist smiling. 

“Me neither. I could have gone without my whole life having to see you like that.” He scowled slightly and shot a glare at Hux.

She laid a hand on his, “Be fair.” She squeezed his hand a little, “But I am going to enjoy watching this.”

Rey released her grip on Ben’s hand and settled into a relaxed stance. This was one of her favorite parts about being the Lionheart, getting to watch Ben rule justly like the king she always believed he could be. The remnant of that street smart scavenger in her, however, was more pleased that she had a front-row seat to watch Lord Hux get knocked down a peg or three.

Ben stood once more. Everyone waited with bated breath for the word of the king. 

“Lord Hux,” Ben glared down at the rabid cur at their feet.

“The law you have cited does indeed state that an unmarried parent must be able to look after their child and as such cannot hold a position in the military.” 

The ginger prick smiled in that nauseating self-assured way that made Rey’s skin crawl.

“However,” the smile dropped, “What proof do you have that Lionheart Rey is unmarried?”

Rey glanced at Leia to see her quickly smother a laugh with her handkerchief. 

Lord Hux’s smirk returned, “Well of course she’s unmarried! A man would have to be insane to let his wife put herself in as much danger as the Lionheart’s duties demand.” He finished his sentence with a chuckle.

Someone in the back coughed awkwardly.

Rey couldn’t resist. She quickly told Ben her plan and stepped forward to stand directly at his side. “Careful, Lord Hux. Your words border on treason.”

He scoffed, “Treason?” He rolled his eyes causing the light to reflect off his overly slicked hair, 

“Please, my lady.” The honorific dripped with malice. “How are my words treasonous?”

“To put it simply you have just accused King Benjamin of being insane.”

“What? No I didn’t! I said any man married to you would be…” His eyes bulged in their socket and Rey smiled as she watched the moment of realization dawn on the scheming man’s face. “-insane," he finished with a horrified whisper as he watched Rey and Ben both pull gold rings secured by leather bands from beneath their tunics.

Ben cut through the leather and they slid each other's rings into place for the first time in five years. He turned to the crowd raising their clasped hands. 

"Many of you have wondered why I never took a wife. It was because I was already married. On my travels, in Yavin, I met a young woman. She was kind and good and knocked me on my head when I was too full of myself to see past my own nose. She has been my constant companion and I am grateful and humbled that she has stayed by my side. We intended to tell the people after things settled down but after some-” Both of them purposely did not look towards certain members of the court, “-were less inclined to accept her as Lionheart, Rey wanted to prove herself to you all before assuming her role as Queen."

Rey smiled fondly at her husband, secretly relieved the facade was over, even if it had been her idea in the first place. When she had found out four months into her marriage that her husband was the crown prince of Alderaan, she hadn’t believed it. But here they were now.

The room erupted into the loudest chaos yet. Cheers and exclamations of joy echoed in the stone hall. Rey could only pick out a few individual voices, including her friends who knew she was a woman but hadn’t known she was married.

“I told you they were sleeping together!”

“Rose, you owe me 20 gold pieces!” 

“They’re married, that doesn’t count, Poe!”

The individual conversations were soon drowned out as people joined together in chanting:

“The king is married!”

“The king has an heir!”

“Long live Queen Rey!”

“Long live Queen Rey! Long live King Ben!”

“I told you they would love you” Ben kissed the top of her head, causing an uptick in the volume in the room.

“I think they’re mostly relieved the Royal Line is secure, some of them had given up hope you’d ever get married.”

“You’re the one that wanted to keep it a secret.” 

“You’re the one that married me without telling me you were the crown prince of Alderaan.”  
They fell into the familiar teasing argument with ease; it was lighter now that the truth had come out. If someone had told her back at Luke’s training temple that not only was that annoying know-it-all Kylo actually Master Luke’s nephew Ben Solo but that he was her future husband and soon to be father of her child, she would have laughed in their face. 

He grinned at her cheekily “Guilty.” He whispered in her ear, “But considering I had to find out you’re pregnant from Lord Hux I’d say we’re even now.”

She lightly elbowed him in the ribs. “It’s not my fault the ginger weasel arrested me before I could tell you.”

Ben sobered. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. Are you sure you’re alright?” 

Rey squeezed his hand reassuringly, “I told you so right after you removed those blasted cuffs. I’m fine.” She put a hand to her still flat stomach. “We both are.”

The room quieted for them as they turned to face the crowd. 

First things first.

At a signal from Ben, the guards brought Hux forward and forced him to his knees.

“Lord Hux.” Ben began, ice dripping from his voice. Rey squeezed his hand both as reassurance and a warning. They didn’t need to escalate the scene anymore.

“The only reason you are not being charged with treason and executed for falsely arresting my wife is that you didn’t know she is your Queen.”

Hux, who was usually pasty anyways looked positively ghost-like. He looked like he wanted to interject but knew that he was on incredibly thin ice. 

“But, you did arrest my wife, trespass on her privacy, and announce to the world something you had no business knowing.”

Rey spoke next holding her head high, “As the only damage was to my pride with no permanent harm you will receive a similar punishment.” Rey kept her satisfaction off her face, “You will spend the night in the dungeon and tomorrow in the stocks,” 

Hux sucked in a breath as though to argue but she just spoke louder to discourage him, “after which you will be so generous as to make a substantial donation to the maternity/paternity leave fund.” 

The ginger irritant began to splutter of unfairness and family pride but Rey cut him off with one last addition. 

“Annually.”

“My Liege,” he pleaded, looking past Rey imploringly to Ben. Rey rolled her eyes. “Surely that is unreasonable-”

Ben interjected sharply, “You really don’t learn, do you? If she weren’t here convincing me you deserve mercy your head would already be rolling on the floor. Do I make myself clear?”

Hux gulped and squeaked out a response. “Crystal.”

“Good. If I were you I’d avoid the capital for a few months.” He gestured to the gathered crowd many of whom were shooting Hux ferocious glares of their own. 

“Take him away.”

\---

That night there would be no sneaking into Ben's chamber. Rey had to shake herself as she walked openly past the guards and others roaming the halls on her way to Ben’s rooms. By the time Ben arrived she had already changed into sleep clothes and made herself comfortable in her favorite armchair by the fire. 

Maybe a little too comfortable because she woke to a light kiss to her forehead as Ben gently took the book from her limp hands and placed it on a nearby table. She blinked the sleep from her eyes and smiled softly at him as he knelt in front of her.

“Hello, Husband.” Her eyes and smile sparkled in the firelight but to her, they were both outshone by Ben’s answering grin.

“Hello, my queen.” He took her hands in his and kissed them softly, looking up at her with love-filled eyes. “Today will certainly be remembered.”

Rey laughed, “The town gossips I’m sure are having a heyday right now, do you want to bet on how ridiculous the story will be tomorrow?”

Ben shook his head frantically, “Knowing the rumor mill I shudder to think what horrors you endured or how heinous Hux’s punishment will be reported as.”

“How about this; We’ll write up our story tomorrow and have it sent to all the villages so the people at least have access to the truth. It was hard enough convincing people you weren’t some anti-social recluse unfit to be king, we don’t need this getting out of hand.”

“But I am an anti-social recluse unfit to be king, or at least I’d like to be one.”

Rey snorted, his teasing had garnered the reaction he’d hoped for. “There is no one in this kingdom better suited to be King of Alderaan than you, my love.” She caressed his face tenderly.

He leaned into the touch murmuring, “And there is no one better suited as its queen.”

They sat quietly for a minute basking in each other’s presence and the knowledge that they didn’t have to hide anymore. Rey’s eyes fell on the discarded mask on the ground. It had been her constant companion for so long. It was strange to walk these halls without it.

Ben followed her gaze, “How are you doing now everyone knows?” he asked quietly, stroking her thumb. “I know this isn’t what you signed up for when you married me.”

She cupped his face in her hands tenderly, “I agreed to be your wife no matter what life threw at us.” A mischievous glint appeared in her eyes. “Granted, I never thought it would lead to being the Queen of Alderaan. But I have you,” she took one of his hands and placed it over their growing child, “and this little one, I wouldn’t give that up for anything. I may not have known - I still don’t know - how to be queen, but I'm willing to learn."

Ben scoffed, “You’re a better ruler than me any day of the week.”

“We’ll agree to disagree then." She paused going back to the original subject. "Given how the nobles reacted when you chose some nobody for your Lionheart I didn’t think they’d respect you if they knew who you’d married…”

Ben put his head in her lap, muffling his voice and reminding Rey of a penitent child. “Are you angry at me that I’m ecstatic we don’t have to hide anymore?”

She lifted his chin up and rose to her feet, pulling him with her and towards the bed. “How could I be angry when it’s because of something so happy. We did what we did to gain the respect of the people and it worked. When we agreed that I would be your Lionheart until we had a child, neither of us thought it would take this long.”

He surprised her by sweeping her up into his arms a few steps from the bed. “Not for lack of trying.” His whisper was low and tickled her ears, sending warm pleasure down her spine.

She laughed lightly and sighed, content, as he lowered her onto the soft blankets.

“No, not for lack of trying.”

**Author's Note:**

> I came up with too much backstory for this fic but I didn't and don't have energy to write it all out. If anyone's curious ask and ye shall receive.


End file.
